Six players win scholarships at basketball camp in Ekiti

Six players won automatic scholarships at the fifth Ajayi Elebire Elite Basketball Camp. The camp ended on Friday with an all-stars game at the Ekitikete Pavilion in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State.

The lucky players are Ejirinade Neuman, Igwe Ikechukwu, Muiz Salami, Felix Jackson, Destiny Eze, and Lucky Anyaorah.

The four-day camp kicked off with a tryout in Lagos. More than 40 players from across Nigeria were selected. They competed for the available scholarships with the guidance of top coaches from Nigeria and the United States. The coaches taught them the basics of the game.

Michael Falade, the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, attended the final day. He praised the organisers for helping to keep young people off the streets.

“If you look at the rate of people that are involved in crime, they are youths, and for engaging them in a sport like this, at least you have taken them off the streets,” Falade said.

“When somebody is engaged, you can never do otherwise; you have to do the right thing. Secondly, this is providing work, because when you have the foundation, then there is no way you can miss it.”

Scott Adubato, one of the foreign coaches at the camp, used to coach the organiser, Olalekan Ajayi. He called the camp a great chance for talented players to get better. He said the coaches worked hard with the players and credited Ajayi for making it happen.

“The players were prepared every day. We worked on the training. We did everything we needed to teach them different principles of the game. They were very receptive. They played hard to the last game,” Adubato said.

“I think they earned everything that they earned, especially the MVP and the All-Star players. So, a thumbs up to the organisers.”

Ajayi, a former Nigeria international, shared that the camp was in honour of his father, Ajayi Elebire. He spoke about his own journey, saying he was discovered through the same camp years ago.

“Every year we come here, we impact the lives of these Nigerian kids. We have a lot of talented players, and we have five scholarships guaranteed. The sky is the limit,” Ajayi said.